-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Inter Milan will learn their early group opponents as they begin their defense of the Champions League crown when the draw is made in Monaco on Thursday .

Milan , who beat Bayern Munich in last May 's final , are in the same top-seeded pot with the Germans .

They are joined by British trio Manchester United , Chelsea and Arsenal , Spanish giants Barcelona , city rivals AC Milan and French side Lyon .

Inter could face Real Madrid , now managed by Jose Mourinho , who led them to their triple Serie A , Champions League , Italian Cup triumph last season before departing to the Bernabeu .

Real are in the second pot as are Spanish rivals Valencia .

Another potentially tricky hurdle might be English Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur , who are in the third pot of eight .

Tottenham qualified for the Champions League group stages with a thumping 4-0 , aggregate 6-3 win , over Young Boys of Berne .

Under Champions League rules they can not face either of the other three English clubs at the first stage .

Scottish champions Rangers are also in pot three , while the favorites will also want to avoid Portuguese side Braga , who put out La Liga 's Sevilla in the result of the third qualifying round this week .

Pot four contains the likes of Russian champions Rubin Kazan and Dutch title winners FC Twente .

The 32 qualified teams are drawn into eight groups of four teams , with the top two from each group going through to the last 16 knockout stages .

Each group will contain a top seed , plus one club each from the second , third and fourth pots .

The opening set of group games will take place on September 14 and 15 , with the final scheduled for England 's famous Wembley stadium on May 28 , 2011 .

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Champions League draw being made in Monaco on Thursday

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32 sides have qualified for the group stages led by title holders Inter Milan

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The teams are split into eight groups of four teams with the top two going through